The Detective and Her Bachelor

Chapter 32

Andrew tilted his head until his cheek brushed my outstretched fingers, leaning his bruised cheek into my touch. He closed his eyes, long dark lashes brushing the ends of my fingertips, Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. "Better now." His voice was a deep hum that seemed to reverberate through me like a bell.

I looked down, unable to contain the dark blush that burned across my face and I pulled my hand away from his face, flustered by how he had gone from one kind of threat to another. "Thank you for today," I said to the ground.

"No, Delle." Andrew's fingers tilted up my chin, forcing me to look into those breathtaking eyes that showcased a wild current of sea green and ice blue. An ocean I wanted into dive head first as they sent a jolt of electricity through me. 

Geeze... focus before you forget your own name, Delle. 

A hint of a smile crossed Andrew's lips. "Thank you." He glanced past me, towards my door, seeming to wrestle with something, his face giving way to a shy expression, the hint of pink entering his cheeks.

"Delle..." Decker interjected. "Save us both from having to endure an awkwardly long goodbye and just say goodnight." 

Andrew took a step forward, tucking a strand of my wild curly hair behind my ear, only to smile when it bounced free, refusing to oblige. His fingers trailed down my arms, burning across my skin, trapping me in place for a long moment. 

He looked down at me with a thoughtful expression. "Would you..." he paused looking away for a moment, collecting his thoughts before he slowly brought his lips to my jaw tentatively, testing the waters, assessing my response. The dark stubble that framed his sharp jaw tickled my ear, his breath warm across my skin, sending sanity scattering away like sparks in the wind as my heart attempted to break free of my ribcage. 

"Would you like me to come inside?" he murmured quietly against my jaw, his deep voice reverberating through my entire body as his breath trailed down my neck. The woodsy scent, that I had come to know Andrew for wrapped around me like a bubble of heaven, dragging my mind to a place filled with kisses under treetops and naps in sunshine-soaked grass. An impossibility that I suddenly craved so much that it hurt.

I was startled by how much I wanted to say yes. The sudden urge to spend more time with him was terrifying and that fear caused my entire body to freeze, my mind to spiral, my heart to hammer so hard that my breath came out in a gasp. 

He instantly took a step back, face turning pink, fingers releasing me from his touch. Confusion and embarrassment flickered across his eyes. 

"I..." was all I was able to say, much like that first night in the gazebo. How my body and mind both failed to express how out of practice I was with gentleness. With physical touch. With emotional connection. I blinked, trying to speak, trying to put into words how... 

How what? 

That was just it. I wasn't sure what I could put into words without either giving myself away as a detective, or giving myself away as a woman trying to keep her heart under her own power. His kindness, his concern to never cross a boundary, and his patience were beginning to sneak past my walls that had stood unbroken for years. 

Andrew took another step back, watching the rising panic in my eyes, and misunderstanding completely. "I didn't mean to..." his words faltered. "I'm sorry..."

Say something Delle! 

"No!" I blurted a little too loudly. "You just... I just... I" I closed my eyes, forcing myself to think, which had proven more and more difficult around him. 

"This is utterly painful," Decker interjected, unhelpful in his addition to the voices in my head. 

"You make it hard to think," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "It's those eyes of yours..."